Cardiovascular Health
“One in four deaths in the United States is attributed to heart disease. Our researchers study how behavior, environment, and genetics affect heart health and how screening and treatment can reduce risk.”
Research overview
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for Americans. Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute (KPWHRI) scientists are working to understand how to reduce our risk of heart attacks, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases throughout life.
Addressing risk factors, improving diagnosis, and exploring how medications, genes, and everyday life affect our cardiovascular health at different ages and stages are central to this work — as is translating research findings into practical, personalized care.
“We’ve found that helping patients and health care teams work together on personalized care plans is the best path to lifelong heart health,” says Beverly Green, MD, MPH, whose recent work has focused on improving the diagnosis of high blood pressure.
Additional focus areas for KPWHRI scientists include exploring the impact of cardiovascular diseases on other health conditions — and vice versa. Recently, this has led researchers Sascha Dublin, MD, PhD, and Laura B. Harrington, PhD, MPH, to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular health.
Below are other research highlights from KPWHRI’s cardiovascular health scientists (please visit their bios to learn more):
- In 2016 Dr. Green, a senior investigator, launched the BP-CHECK study, which aims to find the easiest, most accurate way to diagnose high blood pressure. With a $2.8 million award from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), the study compares blood pressure readings taken in clinic, at home, and at validated blood pressure kiosks to the 24-hour blood pressure test that is currently considered the gold standard for diagnosing hypertension.
- Dr. Dublin, a senior investigator, explores many different facets of cardiovascular disease in her work, including risk factors for atrial fibrillation, the effect of medications on cardiovascular disease, and the relationship between cardiovascular disease and other conditions, such as dementia. Managing cardiovascular risk factors in pregnancy — such as high blood pressure and diabetes — is a particular interest.
- Dr. Harrington, an assistant investigator, is a cardiovascular epidemiologist whose research aims to improve understanding of modifiable cardiovascular risk factors, particularly among older women. Currently, she is leading a study exploring the relationship between physical activity, sedentary behavior, and the risk of venous thromboembolism (blood clots that form predominantly in the veins of the legs or lungs). In addition to this work, Dr. Harrington conducts research in the areas of recurrent cardiovascular event risk, cardiovascular health in relation to cognitive decline and dementia risk in later life, and pharmacologic exposures in relation to cardiovascular event risk, with a particular focus on risk factors for venous thromboembolism.
- Senior Investigator Michael L. Parchman, MD, MPH, focuses on implementing evidence-based cardiovascular disease care into primary care settings. He led the 4-year Healthy Hearts Northwest trial, an EvidenceNOW initiative that helped smaller primary care practices in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho adopt evidence-based approaches to improving cardiovascular care outcomes. The trial continues to produce findings of importance.
- The work of Ellen O'Meara, PhD, a senior research associate, centers on the epidemiology of common and important health conditions in the United States, including cardiovascular disease. Her collaborative research has included studies exploring the risk factors and outcomes of heart disease and stroke. Recent work includes research on quality improvement aimed at controlling hypertension at small primary care practices.
Recent publications on Cardiovascular Health
Psaty BM, Fleming TR. Cardiovascular safety trials of antidiabetic therapies to treat type 2 diabetes:perhaps asking the wrong question? Am J Hypertens. 2019 Sep 24;32(10):927-929. doi: 10.1093/ajh/hpz093. PubMed
Jorgensen ME, Kang HM, Kelsey M, Kim BJ, Koistinen HA, Kuusisto J, Leader JB, Linneberg A, Liu CT, Liu J, Lyssenko V, Manning AK, Marcketta A, Malacara-Hernandez JM, Martinez-Hernandez A, Matsuo K, Mayer-Davis E, Mendoza-Caamal E, Mohlke KL, Morrison+++. Exome sequencing of 20,791 cases of type 2 diabetes and 24,440 controls. Nature. 2019;570(7759):71-76. doi: 10.1038/s41586-019-1231-2. Epub 2019 May 22. PubMed
de Vries PS, Brown MR, Bentley AR, Sung YJ, Winkler TW, Ntalla I, Schwander K, Kraja AT, Guo X, Franceschini N, Cheng CY, Sim X, Vojinovic D, Huffman JE, Musani SK, Li C, Feitosa MF, Richard MA, Noordam R, Aschard H, Bartz TM, Bielak LF, Deng X, Dorajoo R, Lohman KK, Manning AK, Rankinen T, Smith AV, Tajuddin SM, Evangelou E, Graff M, Alver M, Boissel M, Chai JF, Chen X, Divers J, Gandin I, Gao C, Goel A, Hagemeijer Y, Harris SE, Hartwig FP, He M, Horimoto ARVR, Hsu FC, Jackson AU, Kasturiratne A, Komulainen P, Kühnel B, Laguzzi F, Lee JH, Luan J, Lyytikäinen LP, Matoba N, Nolte IM, Pietzner M, Riaz M, Said MA, Scott RA, Sofer T, Stancáková A, Takeuchi F, Tayo BO, van der Most PJ, Varga TV, Wang Y, Ware EB, Wen W, Yanek LR, Zhang W, Zhao JH, Afaq S, Amin N, Amini M, Arking DE, Aung T, Ballantyne C, Boerwinkle E, Broeckel U, Campbell A, Canouil M, Charumathi S, Chen YI, Connell JM, de Faire U, de Las Fuentes L, de Mutsert R, de Silva HJ, Ding J, Dominiczak AF, Duan Q, Eaton CB, Eppinga RN, Faul JD, Fisher V, Forrester T, Franco OH, Friedlander Y, Ghanbari M, Giulianini F, Grabe HJ, Grove ML, Gu CC, Harris TB, Heikkinen S, Heng CK, Hirata M, Hixson JE, Howard BV, Ikram MA; InterAct Consortium, Jacobs DR, Johnson C, Jonas JB, Kammerer CM, Katsuya T, Khor CC, Kilpeläinen TO, Koh WP, Koistinen HA, Kolcic I, Kooperberg C, Krieger JE, Kritchevsky SB, Kubo M, Kuusisto J, Lakka TA, Langefeld CD, Langenberg C, Launer LJ, Lehne B, Lemaitre RN, Li Y, Liang J, Liu J, Liu K, Loh M, Louie T, Mägi R, Manichaikul AW, McKenzie CA, Meitinger T, Metspalu A, Milaneschi Y, Milani L, Mohlke KL, Mosley TH, Mukamal KJ, Nalls MA, Nauck M, Nelson CP, Sotoodehnia N, O'Connell JR, Palmer ND, Pazoki R, Pedersen NL, Peters A, Peyser PA, Polasek O, Poulter N, Raffel LJ, Raitakari OT, Reiner AP, Rice TK, Rich SS, Robino A, Robinson JG, Rose LM, Rudan I, Schmidt CO, Schreiner PJ, Scott WR, Sever P, Shi Y, Sidney S, Sims M, Smith BH, Smith JA, Snieder H, Starr JM, Strauch K, Tan N, Taylor KD, Teo YY, Tham YC, Uitterlinden AG, van Heemst D, Vuckovic D, Waldenberger M, Wang L, Wang Y, Wang Z, Wei WB, Williams C, Wilson G, Wojczynski MK, Yao J, Yu B, Yu C, Yuan JM, Zhao W, Zonderman AB, Becker DM, Boehnke M, Bowden DW, Chambers JC, Deary IJ, Esko T, Farrall M, Franks PW, Freedman BI, Froguel P, Gasparini P, Gieger C, Horta BL, Kamatani Y, Kato N, Kooner JS, Laakso M, Leander K, Lehtimäki T; Lifelines Cohort, Groningen, The Netherlands (Lifelines Cohort Study), Magnusson PKE, Penninx B, Pereira AC, Rauramaa R, Samani NJ, Scott J, Shu XO, van der Harst P, Wagenknecht LE, Wang YX, Wareham NJ, Watkins H, Weir DR, Wickremasinghe AR, Zheng W, Elliott P, North KE, Bouchard C, Evans MK, Gudnason V, Liu CT, Liu Y, Psaty BM, Ridker PM, van Dam RM, Kardia SLR, Zhu X, Rotimi CN, Mook-Kanamori DO, Fornage M, Kelly TN, Fox ER, Hayward C, van Duijn CM, Tai ES, Wong TY, Liu J, Rotter JI, Gauderman WJ, Province MA, Munroe PB, Rice K, Chasman DI, Cupples LA, Rao DC, Morrison AC. Multiancestry genome-wide association study of lipid levels incorporating gene-alcohol interactions. Am J Epidemiol. 2019 Jun 1;188(6):1033-1054. doi: 10.1093/aje/kwz005. PubMed
Ward-Caviness CK, de Vries PS, Wiggins KL, Huffman JE, Yanek LR, Bielak LF, Giulianini F, Guo X, Kleber ME, Kacprowski T, Groß S, Petersman A, Davey Smith G, Hartwig FP, Bowden J, Hemani G, Müller-Nuraysid M, Strauch K, Koenig W, Waldenberger M, Meitinger T, Pankratz N, Boerwinkle E, Tang W, Fu YP, Johnson AD, Song C, de Maat MPM, Uitterlinden AG, Franco OH, Brody JA, McKnight B, Chen YI, Psaty BM, Mathias RA, Becker DM, Peyser PA, Smith JA, Bielinski SJ, Ridker PM, Taylor KD, Yao J, Tracy R, Delgado G, Trompet S, Sattar N, Jukema JW, Becker LC, Kardia SLR, Rotter JI, März W, Dörr M, Chasman DI, Dehghan A, O'Donnell CJ, Smith NL, Peters A, Morrison AC. Mendelian randomization evaluation of causal effects of fibrinogen on incident coronary heart disease. PLoS One. 2019 May 10;14(5):e0216222. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0216222. eCollection 2019. PubMed
Miller LM, Peralta CA, Fitzpatrick AL, Wu C, Psaty BM, Newman AB, Odden MC. The role of functional status on the relationship between blood pressure and cognitive decline: the Cardiovascular Health Study. J Hypertens. 2019 Sep;37(9):1790-1796. doi: 10.1097/HJH.0000000000002102. PubMed
Researchers in Cardiovascular Health
 Sascha Dublin, MD, PhDSenior Investigator |
 Beverly B. Green, MD, MPHSenior Investigator |
 Laura Harrington, PhD, MPHAssistant Investigator |
 Ellen O'Meara, PhDPrincipal Collaborative Scientist |
 Nicole M. Gatto, PhD, MPHPrincipal Collaborative Scientist |
 Meagan C. Brown, PhD, MPHAssistant Investigator |
Affiliate researchers
James Floyd, MD, MS
Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology
University of Washington
Susan Heckbert, MD, PhD
University of Washington (UW) Department of Epidemiology; UW Cardiovascular Health Research Unit
Nicholas L. Smith, PhD, MPH
UW Professor, Epidemiology, Cardiovascular Health Research Unit
Director, Seattle Epidemiology and Information Resource Center, VA Puget Sound Health Care System
Research
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Measuring blood pressure at home: It's easy and accurate
Bev Green, doctor and scientist, has tips for monitoring your blood pressure without leaving your house.
Healthy findings blog
New grant boosts research on cardiovascular disease
Epidemiologist Laura B. Harrington, PhD, MPH, speaks about working in cardiovascular and aging research.
Research to practice
Home blood pressure monitoring: From study to clinic
Beverly Green, MD, and Kaiser Permanente work to improve hypertension care.
Research
Is blood pressure reading better at home or clinic?
Home blood pressure monitoring shown to be an excellent alternative for making new diagnoses of hypertension.
New findings
There’s no place like home … to track blood pressure
Research led by KPWHRI’s Beverly Green, MD, MPH, finds that patients prefer at-home monitoring of blood pressure.
Research
CVD risk calculation: Can smaller clinics break through?
KPWHRI researchers uncover obstacles faced by smaller practices when adding CVD risk calculators into primary care.
KPWHRI in the media
Understanding high blood pressure
Hypertension headache: Medical myth or true health concern?
AARP, June 3, 2024
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